Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: January 1990 Volume 28 Number 1, Pages 41–42

Notes and Comments : A Letter from Charleston

Grace Winthrop

Page 41

A Letter from Charleston

Last summer, about six weeks before the hurricane Hugo struck the Carolina coast two of our club members, George and Grace Winthrop, made their new home in Charleston, South Carolina. Not long afterwards we received this letter from them.

We moved here because we thought we would try a different lifestyle in our "golden years", one in a warm, more gentle climate. Little did we know! Although Charleston will never look the same, I think it will be lovely again. These people are determined. They worry more about their trees and environment and preserving their history than they do about their homes - though they are salvaging everything as much as possible.

We were luckier than most. We lost a lot of shingles and our 2nd floor ceiling will have to be replaced, and we lost some pictures and books that we hadn't unpacked yet. The trees were topped, but the trimmer said they should come back.

We evacuated on Wednesday night, September 19th, with hundreds of others. We had been warned all that day to prepare for a hurricane; to collect water, canned goods, and batteries, and to batten down, especially those along the beaches. We had helped our daughter Mallery protect her windows that evening, and came home and prepared for bed. At about 10:45 we heard whistles. We turned on the TV, and the mayor had broken into the program, asking every one who could possibly leave to do so right away as the storm was serious and heading for either the Carolina or Georgia coast. He said the roads would be jammed with traffic by morning and that the wind was picking up to make it bad on the bridges. Although it was pouring rain at the time we decided to leave right away. We quickly got dressed, packed a suitcase, my jewelry chest, some sterling flatware I hadn't unpacked yet, the deed to the house, and left about eleven-thirty that night.

Page 42

We drove up to a gas station - they were all open, with long lines - and then lined up on the road going west. When we got to Route 95, about 55 miles out, the lines had thinned out a little and we came on north to the first good-sized town, Florence, about 100 miles, and found a motel at 3:00 a.m. The next morning we heard that they were evacuating Myrtle Beach that way, so we decided to move on, and since we were already 157 miles closer to Paoli to come all the way up to my class reunion.

Mallery decided not to leave and the next afternoon she went to the shelter, a school, for her area and helped the Red Cross register people. They had a rough night Friday; the roof blew off one side of the school, but no one was hurt.

We spent Saturday afternoon & Sunday trying to contact her. We finally did, and then got some emergency supplies to take back, and left Monday morning.

When we arrived in Charleston it was just unreal. - devastation everywhere. It was like entering a war zone - buildings down, windows blown out of stores, trees, wires and poles down everywhere, many streets impassable. It was really heart-rendering to see everybody, young & old, black and white, men and women, out pulling and hauling debris from their yards to the curbs, chain saws humming and heavy equipment all along the streets, Army and National Guard personnel all around, directing traffic and working on the utility equipment.

We got to Mallery's and found that although she lost 11 trees and had big tractors pulling logs all over the yard none had hit her home. Her neighbors weren't so lucky; terrible damage in the neighborhood. There were so many trees down there that they believe a twister hit through! We stayed with her and pooled our resoruces for ten days, until the electricity came back on.

I can't say enough about the people, and the help that was given by the whole country. Our neighbors covered our roof with plastic to protect it from further damage before we even got back. All the stores that could opened with generators and put everything they thought you would need up front where you could see it , since the back was all dark. Ice trucks ran through the shopping centers and neighborhoods. It has really been an experience never to be forgotten. People were lined up at food stamp & distribution centers for weeks. No one but property owners is allowed along the beaches even yet [October 17th].

Things are much, much better since we got our electricity back. We are living at our home, waiting for the insurance adjustor. Most places are cleared, but the logs & debris is piled so high along the streets, waiting to be picked up, that it's become a fire hazard; no one is allowed to have a fire in his yard.

Will you please thank the club for the nice card we received. It was a real lift to hear from home and know the rest of the world was still functioning normally. . . .